This movie was actually something of a disappointment for me. It moved rather slowly, and to be honest I was kind of glad when it ended. The story is about this rich lumber owner named Mr. Mulrooney, and he's having his grand kids from England come over to visit him. The grandchildren are the kids from Marry Poppins, that's actually how they're introduced too. So Mulrooney takes the kids to a forest he owns for a picnic and while he and the grandson set up camp, the granddaughter goes off for a walk and comes upon this gnome who asks for her help. She rushes back to get her grandfather and brings him back to the gnome. As it turns out the gnome's grandfather is dying. Gnomes only die if they've given up the will to live and the grandfather has given up the will to live because he and his grandson are the last gnomes in the forest and he will never see his grandson married. The grandfather offers to take the two to another forest where there might be more gnomes and they agree to go with them to this forest in the grandfather's car, now effectively, the gnome mobile. The party has to stop off at a hotel for the night and grandfather gnome gets angry at Mr. Mulrooney who gets angry enough to call off the trip and storms out of the room. A travelling freak show owner happens to pass by as this happens and see the gnomes. He then proceeds to kidnap them as they will make for an interesting new attraction. When Mr. Mulrooney finds out the gnomes are missing he calls his security team to help find them, but when his employee hears what he has to say he thinks he's gone mad and has him put in an insane asylum. His grandkids break him out and they go retrieve the gnomes and get to the forest, where the young gnome finds some girl gnomes to fight over him and they all live happily ever after.
The acting in this movie was horrible. It was so forced and stereotyped and fake, it was almost painful to watch. This film is by Disney, and because of that I was quite disappointed with the overall quality. Darby O'Gill and the Little People was also a Disney film about faeries and it was quite well done so we know they are capable, but this is definitely b film material. The songs were cheesy, but I'm less distraught about that as many b film songs are usually quite poorly done. Many parts of the plot weren't given enough explanation. Some scenes seemed to flow along as they did because it would best suit what happened next and not so much because it was a logical scene that fit into an overall plot. Some of the actions taken by people in response to the gnomes, for example, were too extreme or convenient to be taken seriously by the audience. The special effects are pretty good and the guy who does the voice for the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland makes an appearance as one of the gnomes, I think that's all that can be said for this movie. All in all, ok for an initial viewing, but definitely not a keeper.
This was one of the most well-crafted, imaginative, adventurous, addicting show's I've seen in a long time. It's so well put together and the world they've created is such a fascinating place.
The story takes place in a world where certain groups of people are connected to or have an affinity with a certain element. There are 4 nations all together; fire, water, earth, and air. Some people in these four nations have a special ability to manipulate the element their nation is associated with and these people are called benders. A person can only bend one element, but there is one person called the Avatar who can bend all four elements. The Avatar is reborn into each of the nations in the order of earth, fire, air, water. On the year the avatar is born into the air nation however, he disappears and the fire nation attacks the rest of the world to expand their empire dramatically. For 100 years the avatar is nowhere to be seen until one day two adolescents from the water nation come upon something in the ice. When the girl, Katara, breaks it apart a small boy emerges from the ice with a large flying bison, the boy is the avatar. After a run in with a fire nation raid, wherein we meet the prince of the fire nation, Zuko, the two water nation kids, Saka and Katara, go with the avatar to help him learn the four elements and become a fully realized avatar. This isn't as easy as it seems however. The fire nation has become a wide-spread terror and they are looking for the avatar to kill him. They have wiped out the entire air nation in hopes of killing the avatar, but missed Aang as he was buried in an ice block. The three go around world inspiring hope in those who have lost it, and becoming stronger as they learn more about themselves and the people they come across. There are three seasons in total; Book One: Water, Book Two: Earth, Book Three: Fire, and with each season Aang works on learning a new element and someone joins the group.
I think this series is so successful because there is real danger. I've read that the creators were fans of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and that definitely shows, not because the story line imitates those stories, because it doesn't, but because there is a definite and real danger that follows Aang and gang (sorry I had to) around. There is the possibility that their enemies will catch up with them and if that happens, the avatar will never become fully realized and the fire nation will terrorize and enslave the rest of the world forever. The entire world is resting on their shoulders. And yet it isn't too serious or depressing. There are several really funny scenes and for the most part the series is very up beat.
The character development is great also. At the beginning of the series Aang is so carefree and fun-loving, Saka is so cautious and prejudiced, and they remain that way for the entire series but as more and more things happen to them we see them mature. They still keep their vitality and energy, Aang is always optimistic and Saka, though he's the comic relief, is always something of a buzz kill, but they grow from their experiences and become a little bit wiser with each encounter. The same thing with Katara, but her transformation isn't as apparent. In the entire series, she is the character that is the beacon of hope for all whom she meets. She always believes that any situation is possible and that the world will be saved and that all people are or can be essentially good. Many instances in the series she stops the journey to help someone who has lost hope or who is being taken advantage or abused, despite the rest of the group's urgings to push on. Their adventure began by Katara first breaking Aang out of the ice and then insisting on journeying with him. She's more practical and almost motherly compared the other characters, but she is also the gutsiest of the group and is most likely to do what is right no matter the consequences. She is also a very strong female character, which is hard to find many tv shows, for both kids and adults. If there is action the woman is either wilting and useless or hard-hearted and ruthless. There is rarely a female character that displays a quiet strength in the way Katara does. She's one of my favourite characters. Toph, a character in the later seasons, has just as much inner strength as Katara, but again displays that differently. She is a little more rough around the edges, and is blind, which I thought was great because blind people are rarely main characters, and if they are their blindness is most often seen as a weakness or a crutch. But many times Toph's blindness is a strength, as she has used that handicap to heighten other senses. Many times I forgot that she was blind. She also grows immensely, more emotionally than anything else.
The animation is good, if somewhat childish. Basically the animation is presumably targeting an elementary aged audience, and the content is appropriate for that level. However this somewhat underplays the show's potential for an older audience. Many people I've spoken to have heard of the show, but haven't watched it because it looked like a kid's show, which of course it is, but then again so is Harry Potter and that has a world-wide audience of all ages. The characters are rich and multi-faceted. I won't go into too much detail so as not to spoil anything, but the characters' growth as well as characters' break downs are very well done. Also, the ways the creators thought of using the bending was really ingenious and well thought out. My favourite example of this I cannot tell you, because if you're watching the show and think as I do, when you discover that part it will blow you mind with awesome a little bit. For those who have seen the show it's the part in the third season when Katara meets that old woman. This may just be my inner nerd breaking free, but it's pretty cool to say the least. So bottom line, if you haven't seen this show you should. It has adventure, romance, heart-break, combat, political intrigue, and magic. A little bit of something for everyone.
Persuasion is not one of my favourite Austen stories, but it's a good story and I enjoyed the 1995 version of the film. This version, however, is absolutely horrible. Many of the more recent (made in the 2000's) BBC adaptations to Austen novels have been more... artsy than previous interpretations of the novels, and to date I've enjoyed them. Sense and Sensibility was really well done, the older version of Emma was better but the 2000 one was still good. But Persuasion is where they drop the ball. This is more of an art film than it is a period piece and was almost painful to sit through. I found myself so bored at some points that I would think back to how the 1995 version did it and compare them just to keep occupied. There are so many over played emotions that are lost to the plot because the cameraman was given too much artistic liberty and you get lost in the angles and lenses instead of the plot and characters, and not in the good way.
All I can say is that, if you have watched this film and haven't seen the version with Amanda Root as Anne, go watch it. She is not as pretty as the actress in this film, but Anne isn't supposed to be a world renown beauty, she's rather plain. It's a much better adaptation than this one.
For me this is one of those films that every time it's suggested as a film to view I don't initially want to watch because I think it will be cheesy but then end up enjoying a lot.
The story is about a very cautious young boy who is afraid of just about everything he comes in contact with. His father, who wants both to spend some time with his son and help him get over his fear, is building him a tree house. His dad sends him out to buy more nails for said tree house, but Richard (the boy) gets caught in the middle of a rain storm on the way and runs into the nearest building for shelter, and this building happens to be a library. When he enters the library he is bombarded by a very passionate librarian who is more than willing to help him find any number of stories, but Richard is just looking for a telephone and goes on his way to find it. As he is walking through the stacks he comes across a huge mural on the ceiling of a rotunda. As he's admiring this mural the paint starts to melt off the ceiling and drop onto the floor, turning everything it touches into a cartoon. Richard of course runs away and this paint chases him until both he and the entire library have been turned into a cartoon. He meets up with three books, Adventure, Fantasy, and Horror, and with their help, face three challenges (found within some classic books from each genre) as they make their way to the exit sign.
This plot of this movie sounds so cheesy, like one of those direct to film movies designed to make a quick buck, but instead it's one of those hidden gems that encourage imagination and self- confidence. Christopher Lloyd plays the librarian as well as The Pagemaster, and I think he was one of the best actors for the job. He speaks with a mixture of both a hushed and an explosive passion that could make you see the magic in a wet dish towel and draws you in so completely to the plot. It inspires both reading and imagination and is a fast paced adventure, to be enjoyed by young and old.
This is one of those activism books for kids, aged 9- 12. I like it a bit more than the other 'how to' activism for kids books out there because it isn't telling kids to fight the world's evils, it isn't telling them that the world is going to end unless they do this, and it isn't at all large-scale. Many of the suggestions in this book only immediately effect the person who is doing them and the person/ people they're interacting with. Instead of listing all of the actions I'm just going to summarize the gist of them by category.
There are a few actions that suggest how to interact with people more, like your parents or your grandmother. In general, many of the actions tell the reader to do more things with people. This is an important suggestion with the rise of technology. Kids are spending more and more of their free time alone in front of some electronic device or another, and while this is fun for them for the moment, too much of this behaviour can alienate them from their friends and family.
So in addition to the do things with people group of actions, there are the 'do things' actions. Things like playing or writing a letter, grow something and eat it, these help get kids off the couch.
Then of course there are the environmentally aware actions, but it goes about presenting this in a kid friendly way. One of these is to love your stuff, it doesn't say this, but by loving your stuff you won't rush out to buy new stuff and you'll value what you have. There are also the standard 'don't waste power' actions, but they give you some real life examples like shower time and junk mail.
There are also the 'educate yourself' actions. These suggest that you learn another language or learn about a cause to support or to bug your parents about. One of the actions is to simply ask why, which is always a good tool for learning.
Overall I think that this is one of the better elementary school aged activist books I've come across. It's short and sweet but has a lot of valuable things to say. It's also very colourful and full of pictures so is easy on the eye. What I like about this book the most is that it doesn't only talk about how to fix your environment or how to make a political or social change, it also talks about how you should make more time for the people you see everyday. How you should be more active and more social, because believe it or not those tiny and 'insignificant' interactions are what will shape your world the most and are what will determine your happiness. And if more people are happy, the world will indeed change for the better.
